


i follow the pieces

by sstasia



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Delphini at Hogwarts, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, Harry Potter aged Delphini, Minor Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Rodolphus Lestrange - Freeform, Minor Bellatrix Black Lestrange/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Minor Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Parent Bellatrix Black Lestrange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29282550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sstasia/pseuds/sstasia
Summary: A world where the Dark Lord's Daughter share's her years at Hogwarts with the Boy Who Lived.Acts as a piece of that universe, exploring their Fifth Year where Delphini finally gets her long anticipated reunion with the renowned Bellatrix Black - someone who she's only ever referred to as Mother, but can hardly picture even in her deepest memories.
Relationships: Bellatrix Black Lestrange & Narcissa Black Malfoy, Delphi & Bellatrix Black Lestrange, Delphi & Draco Malfoy, Delphi & Narcissa Black Malfoy
Kudos: 14





	i follow the pieces

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure if this is heartbreaking or heartwarming. You be the judge.

The great hall is a buzz this morning. 

Each house amiss with activity, daily profits flipping from one hand to next in a hushed frenzy. Anxiety abound. 

Owls danced just above her, casting shadows down upon unsuspecting students from the light pouring in courtesy of a transfigured ceiling. Piles of students were already packing up to head out for the day, each with a mask of nerves writ across their young features. 

_Looks like she picked a poor morning to lie-in._

The entire Gryffindor table seemed to grow rigid as she passed by. She took time to meet the eye of Harry Potter, doing her best to give him a devilish smile before making her way towards a sea of emerald. She didn't miss his scowl, nor the attempt of a threatening gaze from his ginger haired counterpart. Pathetic.

She sauntered over to head a familiar silver hair, quick to take a dramatic seat next to her laughing cousin, while eyeing Daphne and Pansy with a curious smirk. They seemed particular jovial when juxtaposed with the rest of the hall. 

_Must be good news for us then._

The Gryffindors reaction to her passing seemed much less of a surprise then. 

“Let me see..” She starts, taking the time to spin a perfect ebony curl in her left hand, emerald eyes pointed towards the ceiling in mock thought - ever the actress. “Did Umbridge finally release the list for top students in the Inquisitorial Squad?” 

She was met with nearly half a table full of negative nods. Hm. She arched an eyebrow in response, resting her chin against her hand she tried again. 

“Perhaps, the other Weasley menace also received a Quidditch ban along with those filthy blood traitor twins?”

Again no. 

“Sprout finally got the sack?’

No.

“Hagrid?”

No. 

“Did we manage copies of the potions O.W.Ls already?”

No.

“Salzar’s sake! Did they finally agree to send all mudbloods back to the mainland? I mean-”

“Delphini.” Draco interrupted. He was all smiles when she turned to him, despite the fact that he knew she was slightly peeved he cut her off mid thought. 

He shared a brief glance with Theo and Blaise before turning back to her, a small smile still stuck on his face, vaguely reminiscent of the way he used to laugh with her when they were children. He had a copy of the Prophet carefully folded in his hands, he pressed it into hers.

She froze for a moment, it was less than a breath until that cog spinning in her head came to a resounding halt. Her eyes widened. 

_No._

And suddenly, she was terrified.. 

Terrified that perhaps she was about to be immensely disappointed that this news she held in her hands was not at all the news she had been so quietly craving the past fourteen years. 

Terrified that perhaps it was. 

Terrified of what that might mean, and absolutely terrified of how destroyed she would be now if this paper spoke of anything other than what she’d been yearning. 

_Father promised her soon._

He’d been promising her for the past six months now. 

She stared at Draco a moment longer then, asking him with her eyes what she was too afraid to see written across the front page. He shook his head in encouragement, flipping over the paper for her, pointedly ignoring her now slightly shaking hands. 

It was as though she forgot how to breath. 

_Mother._

The front of the Prophet screamed in outrage of another breakout, pointing the blame at anyone but the obvious. An idiot Fudge photographed in rampant discussion pacing the floor of the Ministry. 

Delphini’s eyes were glued to the page, searching for the name and face she’d been oh so eager to meet.

> ”We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have-”

_Mum._

She must’ve been lost in thought for far too long then. The only thing bringing her attention back to the present being Draco, who was pulling her up and off the benches. She briefly became aware that they were some of the last two remaining in the Great Hall, with the exception of a few Firsties and some lingering Professors. He managed to shove a piece of buttered toast in her hand before confiscating his copy of the Prophet once again.

“Hey!” She fought, hand holding tight on the corner of the newspaper. She hadn’t meant to snap at him, her mind still foggy with the sudden rush of emotions. 

“It’s not going anywhere,” He argued, finally snatching it out from her grip and tucking it into his schoolbag. She supposed it wouldn’t be ideal to be walking through the castle corridors engrossed in the latest Death Eater escapade... but every fiber in her being was positively itching to read the story again, to run her fingers along her Mother’s name freshly printed in the pages. _He was creasing the paper!_

“Come on then!’ Draco started again, pushing her along despite the knit in her brow. “Finish the toast Delph. We may have potions next block but I _hardly_ doubt Professor Snape would mind if we opted to take a trip to the Owlery instead?” 

He smiled again, that stupid boyish smile he only shares with her, and tipped his head to the open doorway encouragingly. 

Draco’s never usually this nice to her. 

Not that he’s ever pointedly mean, but they grew up practically as siblings and happened to even share the same last name on school grounds, considering that her given one was… less than acceptable. It only made sense that he bully her like the older brother that he pretended to be. His teasing was absent this morning. 

_He knows how much this means._

“Well come on!” He started again, practically laughing at her shifting expression. Too many thoughts at once. “I think it’s time we send a letter to Mum and Dad don’t you?”

She shook her head in agreement, finally making moves to follow him out of the Hall - not before discarding the disgusting piece of toast he shoved on her. Her throat felt far too tight to swallow right now. 

“Sounds like we may be taking an impromptu Holiday back home this weekend.” 

Her heart thrummed at the thought, a genuine smile finally breaking way across her delicate features. He laughed with her this time, and did little to hide his own shit eating grin - a look they seemed to share courtesy of their Noble and Ancient heritage. 

Home seemed to take on an entirely new meaning now. 

She did her best to stop the tears welling in her eyes as she practically raced him out and towards the Owlery. Mother was finally _home._

She missed the look the Headmaster leveled them on their dash out.

X.

It seemed that Aunt Cissa had gotten her copy of the Prophet a bit earlier then they.

On second thought, it seemed more likely that she became well aware of the breakouts long before they made news. 

Their Eagle Owl sat perched at the castle window, with a bright piece of parchment charmed carefully to stick along it’s spiny leg. Draco reached for it first. _Her hands were still shaking._

“Ouch!” 

The letter seemed to cut him upon opening, words coming to life on the page once his blood met the parchment. 

“A recognizing charm.” she offered at his surprised expression, he shared a look with her briefly, confusion etched in his brow. “It’s like the opposite of a concealment charm, one of the ways it can recognize is through blood - sometimes you need to say certain phrases or complete specific actions… Come on Draco you know this!” 

She rolled her eyes at his still impressed expression, reaching across him for a glimpse at the letter. He fought her own that, the two of them wrestling for ownership of the piece of parchment until they settled to read it side by side, cheeks smashed together. 

Impromptu trip home indeed.

X.

Delphini could not sleep.

Her mind, far too occupied dreaming up scenarios involving her Mother, was positively restless. 

She combed through fantasies over and over, her brain buzzing in anticipation. Her mind seemed to race through all thoughts she’s toyed with numerous times before: 

Dreams of a happy reunion, of a Mother’s slender hands threading bows in her soft toddler hair, concerned kisses and lullabies chasing away the prophecies that bloomed in her mind amidst the nightmares, Azkaban alight in glorious flames, a tight warm embrace cloaked in ebony curls, a Mother’s whisper.. _’I’m so, so proud of you Delphini..’_

Throughout her childhood she spent perhaps too careful a time reimagining moments that should have been shared with a Mother and Father and not with an adoring Aunt and an apprehensive Uncle. She was constantly crafting up scenarios in her head where it was Mum and Dad who were there to kiss a scraped knee, to lift her up after she fell, or to even show her how to hold a wand. 

On some level, she always knew that she would meet them again. 

Aunt Cissa promised it to her every time she went on inquiring about her parents, and her Father proved those promises true enough last Spring. 

Her Aunt Cissa always did do a good job of making it feel as though her Mother was there, without her actually being _there_. She was always pointing out similarities between Delphi and her Mother, bringing up the name Bella in nearly every conversation, and of course she spent careful time sharing stories and distant memories involving her sister. 

Delphini’s favorites always happened to be the stories that Aunt Cissa or Uncle Lucius could share depicting the pair of them. Delphini spent a little over a year in her mother’s arms before Bellatrix was taken from her in a flurry of Aurors and accusations - she practically soaks up any recollection her family can share of that time. She hates herself vehemently for not being able to remember anything from those precious months on her own. 

Hates herself even more for craving it. 

Delphini was lucky you see. Lucky she still had an Aunt, Uncle, and cousin who were there to fit her into their little family. Lucky that they were willing to call her one of their own - the daughter of the Dark Lord hidden in plain sight. 

She knows she had more than most. Knows that despite it all she wanted for nothing at the end of the day. 

Save for perhaps the sound of an _‘I love you’_ from a Mother’s adoring lips and not substituted from the next closest relative. She doesn’t even know what Bella sounded like. 

_Sounds_ like.

And it’s that present tense that she’s facing now. The very prospect that the person she longed to meet since her earliest memories is currently tucked away in the Manor she’s come to know so well just _waiting_ for her. It’s more than enough to keep her tossing and turning for hours on end. 

_She wants to meet me, too!_

Aunt Cissa’a letter had all but demanded that they return to Malfoy Manor at the nearest week-turn. She had stated specifically that her and Draco’s presence was not only expected but _highly anticipated._

So here she is, lost amongst emerald sheets and wondering what a ‘hello’ is going to sound like coming from her Mother. She is practically relishing in the fact that for once she will actually have answers to all these burning questions. That she will get the chance to ask her Mother things, and to know her outside of just a sister’s stories.

_Assuming she even wants to talk with me at all._

_Assuming she even likes me to begin with._

_Assuming I meet her expectations…._

_What if I’m not good enough for her?_

Bellatrix has certainly spent the last thirteen or so years locked away creating the perfect daughter in her mind. What if Delphini doesn’t quite fit that picture? Is she a disappointment to her mother already? 

_That’s assuming she even thinks about me at all._

Perhaps Bellatrix won’t even recognize Delphini. Perhaps she’s forgotten she’s even had a daughter, forgotten that she’s supposed to love her. 

Father seemed aware enough of her presence when they reunited last Summer. He looked her over deep in thought, keeping her at arm's length until offering an approving nod. He was quick to tell that she looked like Bella as well. Obviously, he wasn’t the first person in her life to bring forth this notion, it seemed that nearly every person who had met Bellatrix just as easily came to the same conclusion upon seeing her daughter. However, hearing the comparison from his lips had nearly brought tears to her eyes. Their shared features was one of the many things that always warmed Delphini to the women she never had the chance to really know. 

Perhaps it be something that warms Bellatrix to her as well. 

When sleep finally catches up with her she dreams that she’s caught in a web of constellations. At first she is afraid, afraid to be swallowed by the looming darkness. 

She quickly finds that the stars are sweet and that their presence keeps her warm.

X.

The walk to Hogsmeade is never-ending.

Professor Umbridge took it upon herself to escort Draco and Delphini to meet their Aunt, reminding them how important it was to be under ministry supervision without explicitly referencing the breakouts. Dumbridge, as Delphini preferred to call her, had made a new decree specific to the escapes, making it so Professors and Instructions alike could not so much as speak to students about the Breakout. 

It was humorous to think that perhaps Doloris was afraid of the Death Eaters herself, she certainly wasn’t one fortunate enough to be in her Father’s favor if Delphini remembered correctly. 

_Perhaps you should be afraid you froggy cretin._

Delphini nearly screamed in frustration at another tug of biting wind, doing her best to try and hide her smooth bouncing curls under a thin hood so they didn’t get messed. She spent far too much time perfecting her appearance this morning, wanting to look nothing short of exceptional given that this is the first time her Mother would be laying eyes on her since she was practically an infant. 

Draco picks up on it about halfway through the walk, grabbing her hand and taking it into his tightly - doing his best to ease her nerves if only just a little. It’s moments like these where she’s nothing short of grateful for having grown up with a cousin (brother?) like him. 

She spots Aunt Narcissa almost immediately when they enter the town. The poise stance and platinum hair set her apart from nearly anyone else in the wizarding world, especially the particular wizards that would find themselves in Hogsmeade on a late winter day.

“Mum!” Draco calls out, waving at her from the top of the street as both he and Delphini straighten their posture and tighten their lips. She faltered a bit as they got closer, her confidence failing her with each and every step.

“Mrs. Malfoy,” Their toadlike chaperone starts, pulling on the pink buttons to her even pinker coat. “So glad to see you punctual. I made sure that Mr. and Ms. Malfoy both arrived here safely - just as I expect you to have them when they return to the Castle this Sunday evening, at the latest.” She paused then to take a few deep breaths, her short form clearly tired out from the walk down. 

“Student’s leaving mid-term like this is highly irregular. Given the nature and status of your family, I felt it fair to provide an exemption, but I will have you know that this was not without-” She rambled on after that, losing Delphini’s attention almost completely. 

Her mind was on her mother again. Seeing Aunt Narcissa standing here so entirely out of place against the snowy background only served to remind her just how real this all was. Mother was waiting at Malfoy Manor. And suddenly, she was pulling at her hair again. 

_Please, please like me._

After what could’ve been mere moments or an honest eternity (Delphini was far too lost in thought to keep track) Doloris finally gifted them with her parting. _Good riddance, Toad._

Aunt Cissa greets them both superficially then, a quick kiss on the cheek and next thing Delphi knows she has a firm grip on both of their hands and is practically dragging them through a maze of alleyways. 

Narcissa is careful to take note of any passerbyers, they cannot afford any tails right now. Lucius had insisted that having the children home so soon was in poor choice, but she couldn’t bear to keep Delphini away from Bella any longer. All it took was one broken look from her sister and she was adamantly disagreeing with her husband. 

“Our House Guest is currently out of the country.” She started, hands still like steel, gripping her Son and Nieces. She knows the children know what this means. The Dark Lord is away on business again. 

Sometimes, she suspects Delphini may even know where. 

They share conversations, Delphi and her father, in hushed parseltongue most nights. Narcissa is not even sure if they know they are doing it, but Lucius seems to believe that there are things they are hiding from them. If it were just in regards to the Dark Lord she would be in easy agreement with him. But Delphini hiding things from her? She’s not so sure.

“Their absence doesn’t mean that your presence at home is any less desired.” She turns fully to her niece then, giving her hand an extra squeeze and trying to catch her eye with an encouraging smile. 

She can tell the girl is nothing short of nerves, her magic radiating off of her in excited yet anxious swells. 

_Oh sweet girl, you are truly her greatest treasure._

They finally reach an area that seems cloaked enough to apparate before she turns around to them: “Stay quiet now, and don’t let go of my hand.” 

Draco quirks a brow at his Mother’s proclamation, attempting to share a questioning look with his cousin but she appears otherwise preoccupied with the current state of her shoes, denying to meet his eye. 

In a snap they are gone. 

The next thing Delphini becomes aware of is the soft smell of a wooded hillside. She comes to her senses slower than she may normally, just in time to take in the picturesque landscape but not at all fast enough to ask her Aunt Narcissa what in Salzar’s name they are doing here before she is yanked by the feeling of another disapparition. 

This time she becomes quickly aware of cobblestone roads as both she and Draco are aggressively shoved to the side by Narcissa and out of the way of a shiny red bus. They gone again before she can catch her bearings. 

Apparitions never made her nauseous before, but this time she swears it nearly puts her to her knees. As though she weren’t mildly sick to her stomach all morning already. 

She and Draco are both left near doubled over when they finally recognize the gates at the front of their Manor. 

“I’m sorry little ones,” Her aunt starts, a soft hand on the back of her dress robes. “I couldn’t allow anyone to follow our pathway, we have some very important people that we just got back waiting inside. I can’t afford to lose them again.” 

Delphini’s stomach does one more somersault at her Aunt’s words, this time followed by a symphony of butterflies that seem to make it all the way to the edges of her now shaking fingers. No going back now. 

“We can take as long as you both need.” Aunt Narcissa adds. Delphini knows she’s talking only to her then, no matter the pronouns. 

Part of her is positively certain that she can’t wait even one more minute. Another part of her feels perfectly comfortable just turning to stone right here, right now. It’s three more deep breaths before she notices Draco’s outstretched hand, and one more after that before she dares to meet his eye. She can’t help but gulp at the shining reassurance she finds in his gaze. Aunt Narcissa has the same look for her as well. She squeezes her eyes shut one more time, chewing her lip a bit to try and stave off this nagging apprehensiveness. 

_Please._

“She does that too, you know,” Aunt Narcissa’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts, her words capturing Delphi’s attention fully. “Your Mother. She chews at her lips whenever she is nervous, a bad habit she never quite grew out of despite your grandmother’s consistent rebuking.”

Narcissa paused for a moment, waiting to see if her words had any effect on her niece. 

“She was doing it all morning as well. Practically all week - she’s been a blaze of emotions waiting for you to come home.” 

Delphini smiles then, small but certain, and takes Draco’s hand.

X.

They enter the Manor quite silently.

The echo of the large mahogany doorway being the only thing that would provide any sort of indication that someone new had arrived home. Delphini’s heart was in her throat. 

_I’m home, Mum._

She feels Aunt Narcissa push her forward encouragingly again, hadn’t realized that she was once again frozen in her own two feet. Traitors. She opens her mouth in an attempt to speak, but is suddenly distracted by the rushed patter of a very different set of footsteps racing across the marble floor before her. 

Bellatrix LeStrange whirls around the corner of the entryway in a flurry of footfalls, stopping immediately in her dash when her eyes connect with the form of Delphini. Mother and daughter both seem practically petrified for a moment, eager grey eyes locking with vulnerable emerald ones across a marble entryway. 

Despite the years spent in what Delphini can only imagine to be the most grueling of prisons, her Mother is nothing short of stunning. It is the first thing Delphini notices when she rounds the corner. The second thing she notices is that neither of them appear to be breathing. 

The whole room is frozen as grey bears into green. 

The spell, in part, begins to be broken when Narcissa clear her throat. Her Aunt goes to Draco’s side to prompt him into the home, and Delphini could curse herself for the momentary panic the idea of them leaving caused her. 

She turns her gaze back to her Mother, surprised to find her eyes are still locked on her. She moves to adjust her hair again, suddenly self conscious and feeling oh so exposed at the edge of the entryway.

Delphini’s throat felt thick, a silently warning that potential tears were on the way. 

_No. No! Not in front of Mother._

If she learned anything from her initial meeting with her Father it was that tears were less than encouraged. 

He had pointedly ignored her wet eyes, for both their sake, but she hasn’t missed the gleam of disappointment when he noticed them. He’d since reminded her time and time again following that, that emotions belonged with the faint of heart. She quickly gathered that she was not to be a part of that demographic.

Bellatrix sways for a moment in front of her then, her eyes still locked on her daughter, a hand now pressed firmly against her heart - as though that was somehow supposed to steady her. Tears suddenly swam in her Mother’s vision, open, obvious and full of emotion. 

Delphini’s heart lurched when she noticed. Any potential defenses she had just tried to pose immediately crumbling at the look of such sharp recognition and utter ardor glowing in her Mother’s gaze. Perhaps, Father could allow her and Mother this one small exception. 

“Little one.” 

It was probably nothing more than a whisper. Something Delphini may not have even heard normally had she been waltzing in the Manor on any other day. Today, it was the catalyst to her own undoing. 

Tears brimmed in her eyes as well, blurring her vision and slipping down her face despite how much she wished she could hold them back. A sharp ache blossomed somewhere deep in her heart -the kind that can only bleed through after years of yearning- and suddenly, she was in the arms of Bellatrix LeStrange before she could even utter the phrase she waiting so long to say: 

“Mum.” 

She’s not sure who ran to meet whom. They both crashed into each other somewhere in the middle of the entryway, a crescendo of emotions erupting at their impact. The ache that resided in Delphini’s heart seemed to be immediately soothed in the arms of her Mother. Bellatrix’s grip on her was like a vice, but she was fairly certain she was clinging onto her Mum just as tight. 

_She missed me too!_

It’s a resounding thought. One Delphini didn’t even realize she had so desperately needed until now. She clung to it. Clung to her mother, and revealed in the notion that perhaps Bellatrix really had loved her all this time. 

At some point the weight of their embrace had brought them to the floor. Two sets of bony knees pressed against the cold slabe. 

Delphini was not about to let go. 

She felt her Mother kissing along her forehead, and realized that Bella was also whispering something sweet into her curls. She tried to listen, but she was still overwhelmed by simply being in her Mother’s arms (a large part of her was still altogether astonished that some small corner of her brain had immediately recognized her Mother’s smell). The first phrase she picked up on from Bella’s lips was something along the lines of:

“Mama’s here.” 

It was only then that she realize she’d been repeating the word ‘Mum’ as though it was some sort of melody. The mantra to heal her throbbing heart, such simple syllables vibrated through her like a cure. She did her best to hold back a sob then, choking on the word and holding onto her mother just a bit harder. She was completely without care as to whoever may be a spectator now. Her Mama was here, and that was all that mattered. 

They stayed like that for another few moments. Just the two of them, all wound up in each other's arms in the center of the arching Hall. Bellatrix pulled away first, still keep Delphini close and in her grasp. Bella does her best now to stop her own eyes from watering, wanting nothing more than to simply look upon her daughter’s face now to see the girl she grew into. 

She brings her hands up to her Delphi’s cheeks, using her thumbs to brush away her baby’s tears as best she could before planting a firm kiss between her brows. She pulled back and to share a watery smile, eyes shining in almost worship as she took in her girl’s features. 

“You are perfect, aren’t you?” 

The truth of her statement sits clearly in between them. Delphini finally shares a smile with her, and a tearful laugh to follow. 

“I am you,” She states plainly, eyes roving over her mother’s face, near desperate to find any blend of approval in her gaze. 

_You’re so much more than me, sweetheart._

“You have your father’s eyes.” Bella shares, taking a moment to kiss each of her daughter’s cheeks following the admission. 

Delphini is practically shining under her Mother’s attention, and Bella is certain she’s never seen a sweeter face in all her life. She pulls the girl in her arms again, wondering if she will ever get enough of just looking at her, let alone holding her. Her Delphi had been her unyielding light in the churning sea of constant darkness she’d been living in the last decade over. The thought of her alone had always been a guiding force, being able to simply hold her again… 

“I love you. I love you so, _so_ much Delphini.” 

She presses the side of her head securely against her daughter’s. As though that would somehow show her just how deep the declaration ran. 

_I have loved you your whole life, my little one._

“I’m so sorry I couldn’t be here for you…” She starts, all the panic and the rehearsed speeches coming back to her at once. “I’m so sorry that you’ve been without us. My greatest fear was always that you-”

Her daughter surprised her by being the one to pull back this time. Her own smaller hands came up to hold onto the arms of her mother which were still locked around her, wound in her equally as thick hair. 

“You didn’t leave me Mama. I always…” She falters, hands tightening on her Mother’s arms and gaze flicking around the room. She became vaguely aware then that they were in fact alone. She’s not sure where everyone is, not sure if she’ll ever care again about anyone else but the person who’s holding her like she’s the last Pureblood alive. 

_I always knew you loved me? I always dreamed about seeing you again? I prayed every night that someone would send you home to me? I always hoped you missed me in the same way that I missed you?_

“I always knew you would come back.” 

She lands here. All other questions bouncing around her head immediately answered when she fell into her mother’s arms only moments ago. _She loves me. She missed me. She’ll never leave me again._

Bellatrix presses their foreheads together, taking a moment to rub her near identical nose against her daughters before pulling her in for another embrace. 

“My little one.” 

It’s a whisper again. A lullaby. A promise.

Delphini leans deeper into her then, as though closer were possible. 

_Mum._

X.

She falls asleep in her mothers arms that night for the first time in her memorable life.

Both were reluctant to be apart from one another. Having spent the whole evening practically on top of each other, soaking up any words the other had to share. 

Delphini’s not sure how long they spent in the entry hall that morning. She knows it must’ve been a long while given that Narcissa was deep in instruction with the elves regarding lunch by the time they made it into the kitchen where everyone else seemed to be hiding. She knows she must have looked like she’d been crying, that didn’t stop Rodolphous from legitimately spitting out his tea at the sight of her.

 _’Salzar stones Bella she looks just like you!’_

His avowal was met with a room full of agreements, and for once Delphini found it difficult to hide her blush. Mother seemed just as thrilled as she at the proclamation, her eyes watering a bit again as they shared a glance. 

There was so much she wanted to tell her Mother about, so many memories and moments to catch her up on. 

Bellatrix hung on her every word, paying careful attention to her discussion of the prophetic visions and the notions of potentially being a Seerer. 

She swore her mother’s eyes nearly jumped from her skull when she casually mentioned to her that she was a Matemorphmagus as well. She noted the tense glance that her Mother and Aunt shared at the claim, but was still more than happy to show-off her abilities for her Mum. Being intentional to end her flashy display with her natural hair and a pair of generous grey eyes - both she and her mother laughed at Rodolphous exclamation when he caught a glimpse of her then. 

She learned a great deal about her Mother as well. 

First and foremost, she learned that Rodolphous was actually Uncle Rod; and that just like Narcissa is her godmother, he is her godfather all the same. She learned a lot about her Mother’s time at Hogwarts as well. Down to the detail that they may even be sharing the same dorm room bed this year - assuming they haven’t been changed in however many decades. 

They talk late into the night, cozying up around cup after cup of tea and relishing in the sound of each other's voices. 

Delphini feels alight. All parts of her soul glittering and glowing because not only does her mother love her, but her mother is _with her,_ and that’s something she never had before.

When they finally agree that they need to sleep, Bellatrix hardly even needs to ask her to stay together before she is jumping at the proposal. She has to bite her lip to keep from exclaiming that she used to dream about her mama coming in and rescuing her after some of her more powerful visions or nightmares. She doesn’t want to push Bella away by giving way to too much. 

_”I just don’t quite think I am ready to let go of you yet!”_

Her mother jokes, but a part of Delphini wonders if perhaps she, too, is afraid of pushing too hard.

They cuddle up amongst sheets, just as they did in the entryway earlier that day. The feeling of safety that crashes over Delphini as she wrapped up in her Mother’s embrace is unlike any before. She’s been a torrent of emotions the past week, but now she finds herself nothing short of grateful and nothing short of loved as she settles in her mothers arms.

She falls asleep to the sound of her mothers soft heartbeat, marveling at the fact that she recognizes it’s melody.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I proof this? Absolutely not. 
> 
> Did I write half of this in the morning, hungover in my bed before promptly getting up to drink once again for the abomination that is the Superbowl and then complete the other half of this while slightly (severely?) inebriated? Absolutely yes. 
> 
> I think about the potential mother-daughter relationship between Bellatrix and Delphini arguably too much. The idea of having an aged up version of Delphi always appealed to me and I’ve really only seen it done a handful of times, so I thoughts I take a shot at it, in poor form at least. I can only imagine how much having a daughter pre-azkaban would have changed Bella, I feel like we would have met an entirely different person in OotP if that were the case. Shame that we never see any sort of parent-Bellatrix dynamic, especially given that Cursed Child is technically canon. tf. 
> 
> Anyways. Sometimes you have to make the little moments big, and that when you get 15 plus pages on a google doc consisting of Delphini and Bellatrix’s reunion post Azkaban, and you can’t help but stop and wonder what the fuck you are doing with your life.
> 
> Any feedback is appreciated. Gn.


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